Respondents to a good practice questionnaire (n=27) rated financial administration as the factor most impeding development of continuing vocational education (CVE) in Britain. A discussion paper identified four critical areas for this inquiry: costing, pricing, overheads, and incentives. Of the 30 universities to which the paper was sent, 21 agreed to be visited. Findings indicated that all universities accepted the requirement for CVE to be self-financing and adopted their own definition. The primary objective of CVE was rarely income generation, although this was likely to be a necessary condition for sustainability. Universities believed CVE budgeting and accounting should be managed by staff who understand CVE and are trusted professional colleagues in its administration; the ways in which financial regulations were administered were often more important than the regulations. Other findings were as follows: CVE units needed to combine academic credibility and strong links with central administration; the opportunity cost of CVE was rarely fully included in the costing of courses; overheads were extremely variable, as was the range of services they included; much financial administration was driven by costs; and some universities were creating conflicting pressures on CVE units by requiring them to be self-financing and accept institutional responsibilities. (Appendixes include summaries of the financial arrangements at the 21 universities visited.) (YLB)